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The question

What is the authenticity of the Hadith: "Can a believer be a coward? He said: (Yes). Then he was asked: Can a believer be a miser? He said: (Yes). Then he was asked: Can a believer be a liar? He said: (No)"?

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Source: FtawySummarized from the full answer at Ftawy · imported Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

The hadith mentioned in the question was narrated by Malik in "Al-Muwatta'" from Safwan ibn Sulaym, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was asked: "Can a believer be a coward?" He said: "Yes." Then he was asked: "Can a believer be stingy?" He said: "Yes." Then he was asked: "Can a believer be a liar?" He said: "No." This is a weak hadith because it is mursal (a narration in which a Tabi'i narrates directly from the Prophet without mentioning the Companion who transmitted it) or mu'dal (a narration in which two or more successive narrators are missing from the chain). Safwan ibn Sulaym was from the Tabi'in (generation after the Companions) and did not meet the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. A number of scholars have deemed it weak, such as Ibn Abd al-Barr, Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, and Al-Albani.

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Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
6118
Imported
Translation status
Source text, unreviewed
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